My brother was honored on
Friday for his 40 years on the faculty at Tennessee State University. That’s 35
more years than he originally intended.

When Donald finished his
PhD in Communications and accepted the job at Tennessee State, he told me he planned
to teach for five years and then he’d try something different—perhaps producing
documentary films—for the next five. He expected to change positions every five
years or so because he wanted to be challenged and keep learning.

Thursday night I reminded
him of his five-year plan, and he laughed. He said there was always something
new to learn right where he was. He teaches television production classes, and
the technology is constantly changing, so maybe that was what he meant. But it
was clear from the reflections and comments from colleagues and former students
that Donald couldn’t have stagnated if he had tried. In addition to his teaching
responsibilities, he mentors new faculty and is everybody’s student advisor,
whether assigned or not.

I am going to use
Donald’s experience to make a point about writing, but first I’ll take a short
detour to post a picture of all the family members who attended. My children couldn’t
make it, but my brother Gordon’s family were all there, as were my cousin Gail
and her granddaughter and great-grandson.

Now back to the original itinerary.

I’ve never wanted to
stagnate, either, and that’s as true of writing as it was of law. My original
attempts at fiction were okay, and I wouldn’t be embarrassed if they were
published. But every subsequent book has been better. And that’s the lesson for
writers. There is always something new to learn.

So if the next book isn’t
better than the last one, hit the refresh button.